Just like every year, the audience at the Rent Guidelines Board meeting in the Great Hall at Cooper Union on May 2 was in a near-constant state of uproar, with tenant advocates demanding no rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments. After the R.G.B.’s chairperson told tenant activists crowding the front to move back, one man, who only gave his name as John, stepped forward defiantly with his hands behind his back. He was handcuffed and arrested for disorderly conduct, at left, and taken to the Ninth Precinct, where an officer answering the phone said he would be given a ticket and released. Councilmember Margarita Lopez and Democratic District Leader Rosie Mendez, holding banner, joined members of the Good Old Lower East Side tenants advocacy group in demanding a rent freeze, at right. The R.G.B. is looking at a 2 percent to 4.5 percent increase for one-year leases and 4 percent to 7 percent increase for two-year leases. Another hearing will be held in June, with a final decision set for June 21.
thevillager.com
